Bond, Schoeneck & King Publishes 2012 Study of Employment Discrimination Litigation in the Northern and Western Districts of New York

February 19, 2013

By: John Gaal

Bond recently published its 2012 Study of Employment Discrimination Litigation in the Northern and Western Districts of New York.  Bond’s first Study on Employment Discrimination Litigation was issued in 2001, with a follow up Study issued in 2007.  This latest Study reviews Northern and Western District cases for the January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011 period, and then compares those findings with the 1991 through 2000 data in its original Study, as well as with data for 2001 through 2011, and cumulative data for the 1991 through 2011 period.

This latest Study shows that in the Northern and Western Districts defendants continued to prevail most of the time in cases that went to trial before a jury (more than 57% of the time in the 2007 through 2011 period, showing a slight decline over other periods).  Defendants prevailed by a much greater percentage in cases tried before a judge (87.5% of the time in the 2007 through 2011 period).  Fewer cases actually made it to trial and, perhaps not surprisingly given the preceding numbers, of those that did go to trial, far fewer cases were tried before a judge.  While the percentage of cases that settled declined a bit in the 2007 though 2011 period, the percentage of cases disposed of by substantive motion actually increased.

In the 21 jury trials that were tried to verdict in the Northern and Western Districts during the 2007 through 2011 time period, plaintiffs prevailed nine times with an average jury award of just under $295,000.

Based upon the manner in which the federal courts track cases, and in a change from prior periods studied, among the categories of age, disability, race and sex, race claims were the most common claims in litigation during the latest 2007 through 2011 period (followed by disability claims which have been growing in number over the years).  In prior years, sex-based claims held that top spot.  The most significant increase in claims asserted was the general category of “employment discrimination,” which includes retaliation claims.  Somewhat surprisingly, age claims were on the decline.  By comparison, race claims, followed by sex claims, were the most common claims filed by EEOC and New York Division of Human Rights complainants for the 2008/09 and 2009/10 periods (the latest periods for which statistics were available).

As has been the case for all periods studied, Bond represented more defendants in employment discrimination litigation in the Northern and Western Districts of New York than any other law firm, and in the 2001 through 2011 period, it appeared in almost twice as many cases as the next most frequent defense law firm.

Finally, the Study reveals that the length of time it took for a case to go from filing to verdict after trial increased, and significantly.  In the Northern and Western Districts combined, a jury trial took an average of just over four years to conclude during the 2007 through 2011 period, compared to 2.2 years during the 1997 through 2000 period.  Bench trials took even longer, at more than six and one-half years for the 2007 through 2011 period, compared to just under two years for the 1997 through 2000 period.  Of course, given the relatively small number of bench trials in particular, a lengthy delay in just one or two cases can skew these numbers.

To obtain a complete copy of the Study, click here.